Just David

Eleanor Porter wrote this wonderful novel two years after the runaway success of her book Pollyanna Though also a bestseller at the time, Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in 1916 We felt a story this good shouldn t be so hard to find, so we decided to put it back in print last year Now it s in a longer lasting hardcover.It is the story of David, aEleanor Porter wrote this wonderful novel two years after the runaway success of her book Pollyanna Though also a bestseller at the time, Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in 1916 We felt a story this good shouldn t be so hard to find, so we decided to put it back in print last year Now it s in a longer lasting hardcover.It is the story of David, a charming little boy of 10 who is suddenly transplanted from a world of music he plays the violin in the mountains with his father, to the provincialism of a workaday small town But even , it is the story of how David transplants his own character, courage and happiness into the lives of the people he meets, and wins their love and respect Here s what we say in the preface to the new edition Just David is a quiet, unassuming children s novel about an orphaned young boy with a mysterious past David, not the typical boy found in most stories of his day, is a mixture of simplicity and complexity whose disarming innocence has a profound effect on the people he encounters Unlike the good bad boy often encountered in children s literature, David is a good good boy He is not in any way goody goody in the moralistic sense, but simply and purely good David s goodness is not a mysterious quality that defies logic and imagination, but rather a quality cultivated in him by the intentional efforts of a wise and loving father During David s formative years, his father secluded him from the influences of the outside world, creating a private world in the mountains filled with simple pleasures, purposeful study, and beautiful music David s touching story is well within the scope of the imagination, and David s endearing innocence, engaging personality, and natural character are unforgettable.Just David struck a resonant chord in our family for several reasons First, David s life affirms the biblical principle expressed in the proverb, He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm David walked with his father and became wise Also, his story reminds us of the importance of creating the right appetite early in our children s lives David s love of music, nature and beauty were intentionally cultivated in him by his father Finally, there is a refreshing balance in David s life and character that provides a literary model to emulate, especially for the artistically inclined boy often overlooked in literature David is artistic, yet he knows when to be realistic He is slight of stature, yet able to handily defend himself when necessary He is trained and mannerly, yet he is also manly He is sensitive, yet sensible Whatever limitations he discovers, he meets them with strength of character.This is truly one of those books that everyone in your family will like, and will likely want to hear or read than once We re on our fourth reading It has even inspired us to have Just David days for our children when we focus on the beautiful and lovely things God has given us to enjoy Just David is just great Includes family discussion questions at the end of the book Whole Heart Ministries

Title: Just David

Author: Eleanor H. Porter

ISBN: 9781888692051

Page: 411

Format: Hardcover

Just David Eleanor Porter wrote this wonderful novel two years after the runaway success of her book Pollyanna Though also a bestseller at the time Just David has rarely been reprinted since its release in

Victoria Lynn

This book is so sweet and such a beautiful tale. One of our family classics.

Sara

Perhaps idealistic, but very sweet and unjaded. Can life really be like that--why not!?! It was a book group read and I really enjoyed the sweet character of David and his unselfishness. The Author is also the author of Pollyanna.

Janiece

Wow! This is truly a beautiful story of those that I will return to again and again. Well written. Beautifully poetic, metaphorical and inspiring. A true classic. Sad that it was ever forgotten and out of print. Move this to the top of your to-read list.When David was four, his father took him to live in the mountains where he taught David of the beautiful things in life. They learned from nature and from books and from music. It was an exceptional education. When David was ten, his father knew [...]

Alyson

This book was recommended and lent to me by Isaac's violin teacher. It is by the author of Pollyanna and was a very sweet story. It is about a boy who grows up in the mountains with his father. He is very innocent. The time comes at 10 years old that he has to return to society. His nature and innocence are very odd to his new community but eventually everyone is touched and changed by him. It is a similar idea as Pollyanna but with a different plot. I thought it was a beautiful story and I enjo [...]

Charlotte

This is an old, old favorite. It was a favorite of my grandmother's, and my father's, and it became a favorite of mineree generations! My mother read aloud to us from her old and very battered copy when I was young, and I managed many years ago to obtain a old and battered copy of my own to read aloud to my children. Now it appears that it is back in print!Just David is a heartwarming tale of a boy - David - the son of a famous musician, whose father takes him at a young age to live on a mountai [...]

Victoria Minks

3.5 StarsWhen I first started this book, I was enjoying it for about the first chapterd then David actually really started to annoy me. I'm all for kids with innocence, dreams, and an imagination--but David was just a little bit too head-in-the-clouds for the first quarter of the book. It makes sense, the way his father raised him, and the book states that his father wasn't sure if he had made the right choice. Basically, David starts off as pretty much an antique version of a hippie. I had to s [...]

Dianna

Pollyanna + Anne of Green Gables + Heidi + A Girl of the Limberlost. Except with a boy. I can't call it great literature since it reminded me so much of so many other books, but they were all books I like. A sweet book that made me think about how we view beauty in our lives.

Annie Kate

At first my teens scoffed that this was sentimental Victorian literature, but by the end of the book they were enjoying it and were deeply involved. The book had improved by then, too, and involved more action and real emotion and less 'sappy' elements.This is a sweet story about an idealistic little orphan violinist who changes the town that takes him in. If you read many books out loud to your children, add this one; if you read only a few out loud, don't let Just David crowd out a better book [...]

Zachary Lawrence

“Just David” is a great a book. I would recommend it to a violinist. David is a ten year old boy who doesn’t know his last name. His dad died on the side of the road. Just before he died, he gave David a sack full of large gold coins and told him to hide them until needed. A man named Simeon Holly found him sitting on the side of the road playing a violin to his “sleeping” father. Simeon, realizing the man is dead; he and his wife try to figure out the boy’s name. He tells them he is [...]

Orhon Sh

Elizabeth

David and his father have always lived on the mountain, but one day his father tells him to pack, they must leave their cabin. David’s father becomes more tired and sick as the journey progresses, and finally dies in the barn of a farmer and his wife. The farmer and his wife don’t know what to make of this small boy, who “plays the look of the dew on wet grass” on his violin, and refuses to powder the potatoes from the striped bugs because they look so beautiful. David; raised in innocen [...]

Sue Thornquist

This is a novel I read as a kid, after finding a wealth of Porter novels (and Anne of Green Gables and Freckles!) in my grandmother Gove's attic and devouring them. That led me on countless book quests throughout my teenage (and adult, let's be honest) years, contacting rare and used book dealers all over the country to find other titles and first editions. I've been wanting to re-read this one for some time, and right before Christmas, I did. It's a flowery style to be sure, but wonderful chara [...]

Alicia

Sweet 1916 children's story written by the author of Pollyanna. I listened to it on Librivox (librivox/just-david-by-el) -- awesome web site for free audio books.From a review: "The widespread theme of the orphan in American literature is central in the main character of Just David, who through his extraordinary talent restores order to the community and heals broken relationships." Yes, this felt just like a boy version of the book Pollyanna, with its optimistic, cheerful orphan who helps reuni [...]

Jessica

My grandma gave her 1916 copy of this book to my daughter for Christmas, and I borrowed it for just a bit. It's written by Eleanor Porter, the author of Pollyanna, and has many parallels to that classic story; a special, orphaned child with a positive attitude ends up blessing the lives of an entire town. If you love Pollyanna or grew up watching the Disney version (I think I like the movie even better than the book), then you're bound to enjoy this little lost gem. It is very sweet, very old-fa [...]

J. Boo

I'm a sucker for sentimental and moralistic tales, but "Just David"'s title character just set my teeth on edge. After a Rousseau-esque upbringing, newly orphaned David's unspoiled nature comes in contact with the cold, cruel world, leaving me cold, cruel, and spoiled.The obligatory child-reunites-sundered-lovers bit serves as the only point of interest, but not much of one.There is a slight twist at the end, but really, the author could just have written "HA HA HA I AM MAKING A TWIST AT THE END [...]

Andrea

The book is about a ten year old boy who has been raised in the mountains by his father. He teaches him to “play” the beauty he finds in the world on his violin, and only exposes him to things that are beautiful and good. He teaches him that he has a “great work” to do in the world, and the story is about David’s attempt to discover what that work is. I loved this book. It was a very simple, story. It was written more for older children, but the message in it was so pure and uplifting. [...]

Dawn Shaver

I loved this book! Such a beautiful spirit is shown by the main character. He is considered quite odd by everyone who meets him. That is because his father taught him to look for the beauty in the world. Unlike the other boys in the town who enjoy playing pranks and torturing animals he looks to help the animals. He is highly skilled at many things particularly playing his violin. It is through his violin he plays the beauty he sees in the world. Throughout the book he finds the good in new frie [...]

Kassie

A sweet story. I loved that David's father taught him so much and gave him such a optimistic, positive childhood, away from the world/society and it's distractions and darker side. Sometimes I'd like to do the same for my own children. But when David was thrown into the world, he seemed ill prepared for it and was not able to communicate well. I believe it is important for all to be able to communicate to those around us. I did love the idea that we all have a part in the 'symphony' and that we [...]

Debbie

I'm a big fan of Disney's "Pollyanna" movie and this is the author of the Pollyanna book, too. This book is definitely the male counterpart to the Pollyanna book. Similar theme, different scenario. A young boy taken to live in the mountains by his father at the age of 4 to learn the violin and the beauty of the earth without worldly distraction. At the age of 10 was then thrust into the world because of his fathers death. Taken in by a Farmer and his wife, David makes a difference in the lives o [...]

Sarah Whitney

Good old favoriteI read this book years ago and just decided to download it on the kindle. I thought it would be a good story to read as a family, but, I wanted to reread it first. My little girls are so sensitive and some books I enjoyed as a kid are too sad for them. I read it in one day as I cleaned and did laundry, just like I did when I was a kid. I noticed some deeper messages I hadn't noticed before. I have been wondering lately where I get some of my philosophies about life. Now, I am se [...]

Julia

Written by the same author who wrote Pollyanna. Wonderful book, with wonderful messages, but much like Pollyanna, the child David, who is the main character, is similarly over the top with his cheerfulness and positive attitude. Positive attitude is a great thing, but in this case maybe a bit too much. I expected that going into it, however, since I knew it was written by the author of Pollyanna, so I was able to just soak up all that was good in the book without being put off by the sugary swee [...]

Barbara

I'd never heard of this book before. It was suggested by a neighbor whose Mother read it for her book club. It was written by the author of Pollyanna in 1916 and wasn't as popular as Pollyanna. The powers that be in bookdom decided to repint it, thankfully. It is truly one of the best books I've ever read in spite of using one descriptive word a little too often. I'm going to get a hard copy of it as I read it on my Kindle. It's a fast read about a 10 year old boy so the whole family can enjoy i [...]

Kyle

This is an interesting story of a young boy raised to know only good, yet as the story unfolds he encounters injustice, poverty, sadness, dashed hopes, and many other things that mar the natural beauty of God's creation. Although this is a rather simple story, it does take a few interesting turns, and it may even cause you to look at the world through David's eyes to truly see all the beautiful things around you. I think this is a great story to share with your kids, and with anyone you love tha [...]

Shannon

Just David is a less known book written by the author of Pollyanna. It is a sweet story about a boy whose father tries to protect him from the evil, wicked, and even sad things of the world and then what happens when the boy is thrust into "normal" society. A little idealistic and maybe even naive, but also makes you think about how well we do/should support the innocence of our children. It's a fast read and a good boo to read with the family.

Jennifersadler

I enjoyed this book throughly. This was written in the early 1900s. The story is about a boy, age 10, who has been raised by his father in a secluded mountain home. The father is ill and needs to bring the boy to family to finish raising him. He dies too soon. A mountain village is forced to care for the boy. During his life in this village the boy is considered "odd". But you find how the boy's perpective of life changes this town forever. Excellent reading.

Molly Saunders

An old friend!I read my grandmother's copy of Just David when I was a little girl. I loved the book and read it to my daughter, and when she was in middle school, she took a copy to her music teacher, who read it to the whole class. Now I found it on my Kindle fire, and read it again. It was just like and old friend. When I go, I shall go singing, to meet my Grandmother in heaven, and thank he for introducing me to the book, Just David.

Kris Irvin

This is a sweet little story. At times it does get a bit saccharine, but if you keep in mind the time period and the audience it was written for, it's not bad. I love David's character and am planning on giving this book to my son when he's old enough! I could NOT find this book anywhere - so I ended up reading it online at Project Gutenberg. I think if I had had a chance to read it in real-book form, I would have liked it just a teensy bit better and thus given it five stars.

Karen

I loved reading this book to my children! It is beautiful! I loved the message, the characters, the innocence, the little love story that David helps along, the lessons throughout. This will be a read-again classic at our house.

Cara

Beautifully written book! I can't wait until my girls are old enough to grasp the full meaning behind it. You must leave the cynical world behind to truly enjoy this story. It's a very quiet book but often the most simple things are also the most profound.